The Allan McKay Podcast

Imagine the world where the global space race never ended. For All Mankind is a thrilling "what if" take on history from Ronald D. Moore (B attlestar Galactica, Outlander ) spotlights the high stakes lives of NASA astronauts and their families. Jay Redd is a VFX Supervisor on For All Mankind whose extensive resume also includes titles like Contact , Men in Black 3 and Monster House . Todd Sheridan...

Linus Tech Tips is a passionate team of professionally curious experts in consumer technology and video production which aims to inform and educate people of all ages through entertaining videos. They create product reviews, step-by-step computer build guides and a variety of other tech-focused projects. Taran Van Hemert is a Senior Video Editor at Linus Tech Tips. He is also a Writer, Host and Ca...

A Technical Director handles the technical side, builds scripts, automates tasks or supports their team. Sometimes, they're the ones handling tricky shots. Sometimes their job is about problem solving. Other times, a TD comes up with a solution when production hits a wall. At the same time, a TD is also an artist.  There's a huge demand for TD's because they're the ones building solutions for proj...

Wren Weichman is a VFX Artist and a YouTube Host at Corridor Digital.  Corridor Digital is a Visual Effects Studio based in Los Angeles. They're best known for creative short-form viral videos, as well as producing and directing the web Series Rush and YouTube Red's Lifeline . They company has also created tv commercials for companies like Google and Machine Zone. Founded in 2009 by Sam Gorski and...

In the beginning of our career, we just want traction: those quick wins that will validate us. When we get to that elite level, there are tidbits of advice from everyone else that sound stupid. But most of the things we think are stupid -- at the elite level -- are the biggest breakthrough of all. At the beginning of a VFX career, we all get technical. Instead, we should put our attention on that...

Dottie Starling is a Visual Effects Supervisor, CGI artist and digital modeler. Through both her freelance VFX career and her work with production houses such as Cinesite, Asylum, and Wildfire VFX, Dottie has worked on countless blockbuster motion pictures including Titanic, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, 007's Die Another Day, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End,...

As artists, we all have a fear that if we do too much of the same thing, we're going to be known as a one-trick pony and get pigeonholed. But the big mistake we make when we let our careers run its own course. Successful artists have their hands on that wheel so that they don't fall into that trap because they choose how they want to position themselves and their messaging. The idea is not to tie...

Sam Wickert is a director and VFX supervisor who has worked closely with many clients such as Epic Games, Google Daydream, AMD, BlackMagic Design, Universal Orlando Resorts, Redbull, and Discover.  The most exciting projects he has enjoyed working on is the content featured on his YouTube Channel, SOKRISPYMEDIA, which has accumulated over 1.6 Million subscribers and 400+ million views - most notab...

A lot of the time, we don't care about building relationships. We just want instant results. We just want to get a response from the first person to whom we reach out. We don't want to introduce ourselves to a client and make us the priority. We don't even want to concern ourselves with the value we can give to them. This is called a transactional relationship. We don't even realize how many peopl...

Stuart Lippincott is a motion graphics designer and NFT artist. He is known as @Stuz0r on social media.  In this Podcast, Allan McKay interviews motion graphics designer Stuart Lippincott about NFT's as a side hustle, establishing the rates you're worth, attracting better clients, working remotely and how your brand determines your prices. For more show notes, visit  www.allanmckay.com/308/.

Clinton Jones is a Director, Content Creator, VFX Artist and Photographer. He has worked at Rocket Jump and at Corridor Digital. On his YouTube Channel, where he is known as Pwnisher, he launches challenges for his community, as well as creates tutorials. His YouTube Channel has a massive following of over 557K subscribers, while his Instagram has 110K followers. Currently, Clinton is working on c...

Taking pride in your work and in your process is so critical! You want to have people want to work with you again. If you don't get it -- if you still don't care -- that is an issue for any Supervisor. This seems like simple stuff. It goes back to the idea of self-management. You have to anticipate the notes. You have to know how to evaluate if the shot is good enough before you show it to the res...

Tarsier is an independent game studio situated in Malmö, Sweden . They are the developers of Statik and the award winning Little Nightmares franchise.  Founded in 2004 as Team Tarsier, the team eventually changed their name to Tarsier Studios when they released their first two projects involving SCE properties in 2009. They've shipped the following games: Little Big Planet (1, 2 and 3), Rag Doll K...

Wes Ball is a Director, VFX and graphic artist. He's directed The Maze Runner trilogy and currently has several projects in development, including the next installment of the Planet of the Apes franchise. Wes graduated from the Florida State University College of Motion Picture Arts. In 2003, his short film A Work in Progress won a Student Academy Award  from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and...

Dottie Starling is a Visual Effects Supervisor, CGI artist and digital modeler. Through both her freelance VFX career and her work with production houses such as Cinesite, Asylum, and Wildfire VFX, Dottie has worked on countless blockbuster motion pictures including Titanic, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, 007's Die Another Day, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End,...

Kode Abdo -- AKA BossLogic -- is a graphic artist from Melbourne, Australia. He first started drawing when he was 6 years old. After transferring his skills to a digital platform, BossLogic was able to expose his work to a wider audience, a move that came with great success. As an artist, he has his own style of visual stories. His thirst for knowledge is something that never goes away, so he keep...

Matthew Encina is a content creator, educator and creative director with over 15 years of experience of directing, designing and animating.  He previously served as the Chief Content Officer at The Futur and a Creative Director at Blind. He has taught through video content, articles interactive workshops, and as well as speaking engagements, helping grow The Futur YouTube channel to over 1 million...

How do you land your dream job at your dream studio? You start by having a killer reel. The more you look at the history of the studio, the more you can understand who they're looking to hire. If you look at what this studio does a lot of, that's going to dictate what their needs may be. Your reel needs to reflect that. Be the one person that's 100% aligned with the type of work that your dream st...

Michael Janda is an executive level creative leader with more than 20 years of experience in both in-house creative departments and agencies working with some of the greatest brands in the world. In 2002, he founded the creative agency Riser, a nationally recognized agency creating high-profile work for clients including Disney, Google, ABC, Fox, Warner Bros., NBC, TV Guide and numerous other nota...

Glenn Stearns was born to alcoholic parents, diagnosed dyslexic, and failed 4th grade. He fathered a child at the age of 14 and graduated high school in the bottom ten-percent of his class. While some of his friends lost their lives to drugs and alcohol, and others spent time in prison, Glenn's path intersected with mentors who gave him motivating examples of how to not meet the fate of his friend...

When it comes to VFX Work, Bryan Hirota has seen a lot in his career, from his first VFX job at Visual Image to currently being a VFX Supervisor at Scanline VFX. He's worked at studios like Pixomondo, Prime Focus VFX, CIS Hollywood, Blue Sky - VIFX. His projects include The Zack Snyder's Justice League, Godzilla vs Kong, The Suicide Squad, Aquaman, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, The Green Lan...

Platige Image S.A. is a Polish VFX company that specializes in computer graphics, 3D animation and digital special effects. It was founded in Warsaw in 1997, by Jarosław Sawko and Piotr Sikora. The studio employs a staff of over 150 artists, including directors, art directors, graphic designers and producers.  Over its 20-year history, Platige has built an impressive portfolio of short animations,...

We have these barriers that we put on ourselves because we set our reality to be around these limitations. We tell ourselves we can't do something. Or that art doesn't pay. Or that the industry sucks. These are the constraints -- or excuses -- we put on ourselves to dismiss the possibility of what could be real. That becomes our reality. So how many things like this are you telling yourself?  Most...

In this Podcast, Allan McKay talks about the key takeaways from his interview with Hugo Martin, the Creative Director of DOOM and DOOM Eternal , about the benefit of getting out of your comfort zone, how to be a creative leader, and how to rise above the chaos -- and to succeed. For more show notes, visit  www.allanmckay.com/295/.

Lotta (aka Charlotta) Forssman is a VFX supervisor based out of NYC. For nearly a decade, she has been part of Molecule VFX and has worked on shows like Ballers (HBO), The Good Cop , Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt , Master of None (Netflix). She has been a Supervisor for Apple TV's Dickinson since Season 1. In this Podcast, Allan and Lotta talk about the path to becoming a VFX Supervisor, how to commun...